In a major setback for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the ruling coalition, Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday declared the controversial decision of the deputy speaker of the Punjab Assembly to reject 10 votes during the election for chief minister to be unconstitutional. Chaudhry Parvez Elahi of the PML-Q was named as the new executive head of the politically significant province in place of Elahi.
Despite receiving a majority of the votes in the election held on Friday, Elahi contested the decision of deputy speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari, who declared Hamza, the son of prime minister Sharif, the winner. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, led by ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan, backed Elahi.
Elahi, 76, has been declared the chief minister of the Punjab province by a three-member court that included Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justices Ijazul Ahsan, and Munib Akhtar.
The court also mandated that Elahi be sworn in as chief minister before Tuesday night at 11:30 p.m. by the Punjab Governor. The court decided in its brief judgement that President Dr. Arif Alvi can administer an oath to Elahi in the event that the governor chooses not to.
Additionally, the court ruled that all of Hamza’s appointments were illegal and ordered his cabinet members to vacate their offices.
The verdict was supposed to be delivered at 5:45 p.m., but Chief Justice Bandial had stated that it will be announced at 7:30 p.m. Nevertheless, the judgement was revealed via short order after a three-hour delay.
Elahi received 186 votes compared to Hamza Shehbaz’s 179, but he lost because Deputy Speaker Mazari disqualified 10 of his Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Lawmakers’ votes.
Mazari refused to count the votes when PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain directed party members through letter to support Hamza, the PML-N president and son of Prime Minister Sharif.
Since April, the Punjab province has been in chaos, which took a new turn on Friday when candidate Elahi, who was backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, was not declared the winner.
Elahi contested Mazari’s decision, and the court asked Hamza to remain as trustee chief minister on Saturday.
The order from the supreme court infuriated the coalition government, which after objecting to it sought the creation of a full bench and reiterated it on Monday while the court debated the matter.
The Supreme Court declined to convene a full bench on Monday to hear the case involving Hamza’s re-election, stating that further arguments must be heard before a decision is made.
The head of Jamiat Ulema-I-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), Maulana Fazlur Rehman, stated at a press conference in Islamabad that the government’s lawyers had suggested a full bench, but the court had rejected the recommendation rather than considering and taking their advise.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz PML-N, led by Prime Minister Sharif, has JUI-F as a coalition partner.
The coalition government of Pakistan dissented from Tuesday’s court proceedings and criticised the top court’s decision to not convene a full bench.
The Pakistan Peoples Party chairman and foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari reaffirmed the boycott call, stating that the demand for a full court was made for the benefit of the Constitution, democracy, and the court’s own credibility.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, vice president of the PML-N, said that the Supreme Court was being put to the test since it is a necessity of justice that a judge or bench remove themselves from a case in which they have been accused of wrongdoing.
Around the court building, where many police officers were deployed, security was tightened. There were also members of the Frontier Corps and paramilitary Rangers to assist the police.
Punjab is the second-largest province in Pakistan, and whichever party has power there dominates national politics.
Losing Punjab means losing the Centre for the PML-N. According to political analysts, the current alliance in power is weak. The results of Tuesday’s poll provide the PTI chairman a “huge chance” to put further pressure on the authorities to schedule new elections and to corner the PML-N in Punjab, which is thought of as the Sharifs’ stronghold.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
